Kazmir was in trouble as soon as he took the mound. He walked Coco Crisp on four pitches. He walked Dustin Pedroia on four pitches. David Ortiz crushed a 1-1 pitch for a three-run homer. After Kevin Youkilis lined to left, Mike Lowell (who told the media before the game he has been playing with a partially torn labrum in his right hip) bashed a dong to left.

Red Dot got through the next two frames, but he was pulled after failing to retiring any of the first five batters in the fourth. Jason Bay hit a first-pitch home run to center (that got stuck in one of the catwalks and never came down), Jed Lowrie walked, Jason Varitek homered (giving him the most career HRs hit by a Red Sox catcher, with 158), Jacoby Ellsbury singled, and Crisp doubled.

At this point, Mitch Talbot came out of the pen for his major league debut. Pedroia singled in a run, Ortiz's fielder's choice scored another, and Youkilis hit a tater to deep left. 11-1 in the middle of the fourth! ... Ellsbury homered in the fifth and back-to-back doubles from Ortiz and Youkilis finished the Red Sox scoring.

Dice left after five innings (5-3-1-2-7, 101). Chris Smith allowed four runs in his two innings (two-run home runs from Justin Ruggiano and Dan Johnson) and Mike Timlin and David Pauley each tossed a scoreless frame.

1 GB with 13 left to play. The existence of the wild card saps a lot of the excitement from this series -- imagine if it was win the division or go home -- but it should still be very tense and entertaining.

Boston has to win at least two of these three games -- in a park where they are 0-6 this year -- to be in a position to win the division. A 2-1 record would leave the Red Sox tied for first place with 10 games left. Going 1-2 would leave them 2 GB -- not a great position, considering the Rays' last eight games are against the lowly Orioles and Tigers. And a Tampa Bay sweep would all but eliminate the Red Sox from the East race, 4 GB with 10 to go.

Last Tuesday, Kazmir (6-5-2-3-4, 108) faced Dice (5-8-3-4-5, 102) at Fenway. Tampa won the game 5-4.

I will be teaching tonight with one part of my brain wondering what the baseball score is. How tacky would it be to put the computer on in the front of the classroom with GDGD or CBSSports (my preferred site) tuned to the game so I can check now and then?

Zen, I have avoided looking ahead to see how many post-season games are scheduled when I am teaching on Monday and Wednesday nights. Luckily, Wednesday nights I am generally home by 8:30, whereas Mondays I don't get home til closer to 9:45.

Allan, I think I may just do that (and yes, remember NOT to call Pedroia Fuck Yeah or talk about dongs....)

Class doesn't start til 7:30 so I may at least get in the top of the first.

Evening, everybody. Hope everybody had a good weekend - I'm still bumming a little over the news of DFW's untimely passing. I'd actually never read the Kenyon commencement address he'd given, and it's really a fantastic speech.

Flipped through Consider the Lobster again the other day, and I was really saddened to read his essay on the 2000 John McCain campaign. It's so bitterly ironic after the fact, especially now that McCain has become the Manchurian Candidate.

mccain was a full-of-shit tool in 2000, not sure why dfw fell for his steady stream of bullshit

Real simple, IMO - the guy he was running against. That McCain would accept the GOP pushing him for President after the royal fucking-over they gave him in 2000 really speaks volumes about that douchenozzle.

A little cushion for the pushin' for Dice - don't fuck it up, for God's sake. Throw strikes!*

*apropos of nothing, I said "throw strikes!" in my head in the same voice as the MSU radio guy who raved out 2 years ago after their crushing loss to ND - "make plays!!!!" A watershed moment in sports radio history.

It's nice to not have to root (with nose held) for the Yankees, isn't it? Now we can all get back to the pleasure of hoping they lose in ugly, brutal fashion.

Well, there is the whole 16th place/protected draft pick issue. But I say fuck it- they're not good drafters anyway. Let them lose every single game left this season. Especially those in The Outhouse That Ruth Built.

Boy, didn't take long for Kazmir to regain his mojo, did it? That dude can sure as shit pitch.

Well, there is the whole 16th place/protected draft pick issue.

I think they'll end up fucking even that up and winning just enough to finish like 15th or something. That'd be a great capper to their season.

The Outhouse That Ruth Built

I wonder...will anybody try to use the "House that Ruth Built" moniker for the new Toilet? After all, it's a completely different building from the one Ruth played in. Maybe "the House that Jackass Yankees Fans Built"?